pro detailers here who give out something like a QD kit to good customers?

Q

quebert

Member
I`m still in the planning stages of getting my business off the ground. I remember reading a few threads on here or maybe AGO where they`d give a coating customer a little package with a small bottle of a Detail Spray & a Microfiber for spot maintenance. I saw on AutoFiber they sell 8x11 draw string bags with your logo printed on them. I was thinking this plus a 8oz bottle of a QD with a printed label with my business name on it would be a nice touch. Do any customers actually use these though? I remember back when I was detailing like 4 years ago I did this for 2 customers. As of a year later neither of them had even touched the stuff I gave them. I haven`t asked them since 3`ish years ago but I`m going to assume neither have still touched them. But 2 people isn`t enough to base what others will do. Anyone here who does this and has gotten feedback from customers about it I`m all ears. It wouldn`t be a big expense really, well not just 10 to get started. But, every one of these potential small`ish expenses add`s up lol.

I know I personally would love to get a package like this, but I`m a detailer and I keep a few MF`s and spray bottles of stuff in my trunk. And I enjoy cleaning my car. I think most of my old customers were pretty much hands off of any at all cleaning maintenance on their car, even if it was a small 30 seconds to remove bird poop thing. Of course back then I wasn`t doing coatings, or correction and I`m thinking those level customers would probably be more prone to wanting to do spot touch ups to keep their car looking good between visits from me. But I could be wrong, maybe Tommy with a $200k Ferrari wouldn`t touch a quick detailer to get bird poop off it any more than Fred with a 2008 Toyota Corolla. When I see a nice car when I`m out, I tend to go inspect them. Seems people in general just kinda let their cars go.
 
Thanks for the reply, yeah I didn`t make it clear but I wasn`t planning to just give them to customers. Just ones who said they`d use them, I`m curious if any detailers have tried this and even have interested customers. I have to stop thinking "if it doesn`t work, ah well it`s only $100" because half my ideas don`t seem to work lol.
 
quebert said:
Thanks for the reply, yeah I didn`t make it clear but I wasn`t planning to just give them to customers. Just ones who said they`d use them, I`m curious if any detailers have tried this and even have interested customers. I have to stop thinking "if it doesn`t work, ah well it`s only $100" because half my ideas don`t seem to work lol.
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I have a few customers that do their car themselves occasionally. These customers are usually the ones giving me products to try. I almost always politely decline.
 
All of the hundreds of Clients I worked for would never use products on their vehicles.. They all had a variety of different LSP`s; waxes, sealants, coatings, etc.., on their vehicles..

They would just get their vehicles washed as needed, and bring it in to me 1-2 times a year for Detailing.. Sometimes more often, if they were taking their Rosso Ferrari 360 Modena etc., to the Ferrari Owners Meet, etc..

I know, you are in sunny California, where almost everyone has some level of pride in their vehicle/s and tries to keep them clean, because the weather is so nice, etc....

Yes, we as Detailers would be more interested in using these things, but the average high-end-vehicle owner has no time for this..

And if someone DID, what if they ignored everything you told them, and just sprayed and wiped with the same towel an entire dirty vehicle? Holy scratch marks, Robin ! :)

Dan F
 
Not being a pro i would appreciate it. Even if i didnt use it the benefit for you would be that that customer has that bottle with your name on it.

The bottles are gonna cost you about 2$? At 8oz bottles even if you bought Ech20 it be around 70 cents per customer of product.

Buy a 100 bulk pack of TRC 365 edgeless and theyll run you a $1.50.

It doesn’t matter if they don’t use it. More marketing for you.

Thats $ 4.30 per customer and if it gets you one more coating out of 100 details it will be worth it.

When theirs quality competition around it’s the little things that count. The bags a nice touch but not needed. Get better product or better bottles. Everyone loves a nice spray bottle.

And it will help with tips guaranteed.


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Coatings=crack said:
Not being a pro i would appreciate it. Even if i didnt use it the benefit for you would be that that customer has that bottle with your name on it.

The bottles are gonna cost you about 2$? At 8oz bottles even if you bought Ech20 it be around 70 cents per customer of product.

Buy a 100 bulk pack of TRC 365 edgeless and theyll run you a $1.50.

It doesn’t matter if they don’t use it. More marketing for you.

Thats $ 4.30 per customer and if it gets you one more coating out of 100 details it will be worth it.

When theirs quality competition around it’s the little things that count. The bags a nice touch but not needed. Get better product or better bottles. Everyone loves a nice spray bottle.

And it will help with tips guaranteed.


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HUMMMM, marketing that`s not a bad way to look at it. Business cards aren`t very effective, but like you said 1 customer out of 100 bitting could make it worth it. Of course Business cards are cheap, especially in bulk. Bottles with custom labels and ech2o or something in them would be a huge step up price wise. Definitely couldn`t afford to give out 100 @ 4`ish bucks each in the hopes to get 1 coating customer. Stokdgs`s definitely right even if they would use it, giving a non detailer detail spray and a microfiber would be asking for trouble. A maybe even better idea, fill the bottle with a nice scented odor remover. People love for their car to smell good. I`m not crazy about my car smelling like anything except clean. But it seems every non detailer I known loves for their car to smell like vanilla or tropical paradise or some crap. I could buy like a gallon of 5 and let them pick a scent they want. And they can`t possibly do any damage since. I wouldn`t need to buy towels either so my per cost would be much lower. And even a lazy person who wouldn`t lift a finger to do anything detail related would probably be okay with spraying a few times to freshen up the inside of their car.

I think you`re partially right about the tips, some people will never tip. But the ones who do could make it even out. Now I gotta go find some spray scents you can buy in bulk and figure out how much it would cost me.
 
Whether customers want/appreciate such stuff will be another of those subjective things, with different subjects being different. Some folks simply LOVE/HATE such stuff.

Stokdgs said:
what if they ignored everything you told them, and just sprayed and wiped ..? Holy scratch marks, Robin ! :)
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That`s what I was thinking. Back when I still had to do this, cleaning off a birdbomb would take me a long time, with multiple swabs, MFs, the right lighting, and often magnification. I had to really work at it to avoid marring, touching a vehicle between washes is just *SO* risky! I don`t know anybody IRL who`d be remotely careful enough.

If etching is a real concern, that could be different, but I`d still worry...
 
quebert said:
HUMMMM, marketing that`s not a bad way to look at it. Business cards aren`t very effective, but like you said 1 customer out of 100 bitting could make it worth it. Of course Business cards are cheap, especially in bulk. Bottles with custom labels and ech2o or something in them would be a huge step up price wise. Definitely couldn`t afford to give out 100 @ 4`ish bucks each in the hopes to get 1 coating customer. Stokdgs`s definitely right even if they would use it, giving a non detailer detail spray and a microfiber would be asking for trouble. A maybe even better idea, fill the bottle with a nice scented odor remover. People love for their car to smell good. I`m not crazy about my car smelling like anything except clean. But it seems every non detailer I known loves for their car to smell like vanilla or tropical paradise or some crap. I could buy like a gallon of 5 and let them pick a scent they want. And they can`t possibly do any damage since. I wouldn`t need to buy towels either so my per cost would be much lower. And even a lazy person who wouldn`t lift a finger to do anything detail related would probably be okay with spraying a few times to freshen up the inside of their car.

I think you`re partially right about the tips, some people will never tip. But the ones who do could make it even out. Now I gotta go find some spray scents you can buy in bulk and figure out how much it would cost me.
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I wouldn’t give out like cards but little gifts with detailing. Little things like that make the experience memorable. Better experiences makes better referrals


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Sometimes, a business card in the glove box helps to jog their memory.. :)

The scent spray idea is good ! Test them before ever giving them out, to insure they absolutely do NOT leak, drool, etc...

Many, many, times, I have had to remove a LOT of those little pine-tree-smell things, (you get at the carwash, I assume), and put them in the very nice, clear, large plastic bag I use, along with all the money, etc., things I find under seats, etc., and then leave it folded perfectly on the passenger seat of their vehicle..

I am also of the opinion that nothing will ever smell better to me than a "clean" smell, and perhaps a faint smell of really nice leather from the seats, etc..
Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
Sometimes, a business card in the glove box helps to jog their memory.. :)
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Heh heh, I thought I was the only guy left who still appreciates (paper) business cards!

The scent spray idea is good ! ...[but]...I am also of the opinion that nothing will ever smell better to me than a "clean" smell, and perhaps a faint smell of really nice leather from the seats, etc..
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Some people might...just might...be like Yours Truly; I want all my cars to smell like they did when new, or else completely neutral. Like, my A8/S8 Audis all smell like D2-series Audis, the Crown Vic smells like a (new) Crown Vic, the Tahoe smells like a Chevy, etc. I`m not sure how you`d do it on something that`d been neglected for a long time, but I was able to get the Tahoe back to that and it was, uhm....awfully used.

ALTHOUGH...

The Connolly leather in the Jag and, to a lesser extent, the `93 Audi, smells like...well, like Connolly Leather often does when it ages (not a good thing). Thank goodness it`s not as bad as many XJS`s are (for some reason *all* of those end up smelling the same, just the way those hides age for some reason. My pal who judges/restores `em agrees..). Store those cars long enough with the doors/windows shut and you`ll remember it :o
 
I give away bottles all the time, when someone asks "how do you get the windows so clean" or "What did you put on the dash" etc I will always fill a 16oz bottle for them and include a MF towel. Also I dont coat a car that someone isnt going to take care of afterwards so I always include some QD and a couple MF towels along with a little Do`s and Don`t checklist.
 
dcjredline said:
I give away bottles all the time, when someone asks "how do you get the windows so clean" or "What did you put on the dash" etc I will always fill a 16oz bottle for them and include a MF towel...
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That`s great! People who care don`t get blown off and people who don`t care don`t get bothered.

Also I dont coat a car that someone isnt going to take care of afterwards so I always include some QD and a couple MF towels along with a little Do`s and Don`t checklist.
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Maybe I`m misreading that...I`m *assuming* you don`t actually turn away customers but rather use a conventional LSP on vehicles that won`t be taken care of (correct?). But I`d think those are the ones that need a coating rather than a conventional LSP.

What`m I missing here?
 
Accumulator said:
That`s great! People who care don`t get blown off and people who don`t care don`t get bothered.



Maybe I`m misreading that...I`m *assuming* you don`t actually turn away customers but rather use a conventional LSP on vehicles that won`t be taken care of (correct?). But I`d think those are the ones that need a coating rather than a conventional LSP.

What`m I missing here?
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Right, Im saying I talk them out of paying for a coating if they arent going to bother taking care of it. If they insist on a coating I am not going to waste my time and their money doing it. I have probably only had one person who didnt get a different service from me and I dont do this to eat so I let them go. Others I just talked them out of a coating.
 
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